WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
2026-27 Season Edition
Casey Mittelstadt ended last season in Rochester. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Forward Casey Mittelstadt was among five players the Sabres assigned to their taxi squad this morning.
The Sabres also assigned center Rasmus Asplund, goalie Jonas Johansson and defensemen Will Borgen and Brandon Davidson to the taxi squad, which the NHL implemented this season because of the COVID-19.
Mittelstadt, the eighth overall pick in 2017, has played 114 NHL games. He ended last season with the Rochester Americans.... Read the full article
Tobias Rieder (pictured) has slid into Zemgus Girgensons’ spot on the third line. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In the not-so-distant past, losing a player who possessed Zemgus Girgensons’ talents could’ve created a massive hole in the Sabres’ lineup.
The Sabres’ weak depth has regularly contributed their annual struggles. But when Girgensons underwent season-ending hamstring surgery last week, coach Ralph Krueger simply promoted Tobias Rieder to the Latvian’s spot at left wing beside center Cody Eakin and Kyle Okposo.
In Rieder, a free agent the Sabres signed Oct. 9, the ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens could make his NHL debut later this week. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The 27 players who participated in Tuesday’s practice will start the season on the Sabres’ roster or taxi squad, coach Ralph Krueger said.
That means 19-year-old forward prospects Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn, Buffalo’s last two first-round picks, will remain in the NHL for now.
Of course, the Sabres must sort some things out before Thursday’s opener against the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center.
Krueger said center Curtis Lazar (lower-body injury) and ... Read the full article
Jacob Bryson spent last season in Rochester. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
The Sabres sent four players to the Rochester Americans this morning, including defenseman Jacob Bryson and forward Arttu Ruotsalainen.
They also assigned defenseman Mattias Samuelsson and forward Andrew Oglevie to the AHL affiliate.
The Sabres sent eight players to the Amerks on Monday.
The Amerks open training camp Friday.... Read the full article
Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton talk during a recent practice. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
After snatching the starting job from Carter Hutton last season, Linus Ullmark figured to have the inside track to be the Buffalo Sabres’ No. 1 goalie this year.
Ullmark, 27, morphed into a workhorse a year ago, playing 26 out of 32 games at one point as Hutton struggled.
But not surprisingly, coach Ralph Krueger said he wants to foster internal competition and “keep the picture small.” Right now, the Sabres don’t have a No. ... Read the full article
Jeff Skinner (pictured) was recently moved beside center Curtis Lazar. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Two days after moving Jeff Skinner down the lineup, Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said he’s confident he and his staff can get the veteran winger in what he called “a good place.”
Skinner, 28, began training camp skating at left wing on the second line beside center Eric Staal and Sam Reinhart. But Krueger recently moved him down the lineup with center Curtis Lazar and newcomer Riley Sheahan.
Skinner struggled last year in ... Read the full article
C.J. Smith could be one of Rochester’s top offensive weapons. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
The Buffalo Sabres sent eight players to the Rochester Americans this afternoon.
Joining the AHL affiliate following the first assignments of training camp are: defensemen Casey Fitzgerald and Ryan Jones; forwards Brandon Biro, Steven Fogarty, Brett Murray and C.J. Smith; and goalies Michael Houser and Dustin Tokarski.
Fogarty, Smith and Tokarski cleared waivers today. Defenseman Brandon Davidson also cleared waivers but is still with the Sabres, who had today off.... Read the full article
Arttu Ruotsalainen could spent time in Buffalo on the taxi squad and in Rochester. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
In the COVID-19 world, the Sabres start each day by having a logistics meeting.
NHL teams can utilize a four- to-six man taxi squad this season, meaning in addition to figuring out the big league and AHL rosters, the Sabres have another group they must prepare to handle.
“This is so much a new world, trying to figure out exactly how we’re going to integrate the taxi squad,” Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said on a ... Read the full article
Ralph Krueger has no problem wearing a mask on the bench. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
So far, 10 days into training camp, the Sabres haven’t experienced any setbacks because of COVID-19.
But on Friday, the NHL announced six Dallas Stars players and two staff members had tested positive for the virus. The outbreak forced the team to close its facility and three games to be postponed.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, meanwhile, held out 17 players from Friday’s practice because of what they called “an abundance of caution and in accordance ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens has spent a year and a half in Buffalo’s organization. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
Over the last two months – through Hockey Canada’s selection camp, a 14-day quarantine, the heartbreak of losing a gold medal and now in Buffalo – Sabres prospects Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn have grown close.
Shortly after Canada fell to Team USA in Tuesday’s World Junior Championship final, Cozens and Quinn boarded a private plane in Edmonton and flew to Buffalo, where they quarantined for two days before joining training camp Friday at KeyBank ... Read the full article